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"What I like about MGallery is the storytelling"

"What I like about MGallery is the storytelling"

Alexandra Woop is a Director Interior Design for MEB and upscale brands acting in Middle East. Today, she shares with us her vision of design and hospitality.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Why did
you choose to pursue your career in the hospitality industry?

I am an
addicted traveler. I love to explore new destinations and I am always looking
for new experiences. I have a background in architecture and design so I like
to look for design and how design embedded in the latest environment, thus I am
looking for new spot all over the world.

Hospitality
is one of my major interest in my mind and it is also my passion so I like to
explore hospitality movement in design and architecture, searching for new
design agencies, doing mind map of travelling or looking for destinations in
design magazines.

I love to
get encouraged with the place, philosophy created by local designers, always
source of inspiration, new way of building design environment, it is an entire
experience

My choice
of the industry was very natural and in line with my interest. I have a Master
degree in architecture; I worked for 7 years in Germany architecture company
based in Hamburg, it was then very natural to switch to hospitality.

What it is like to be a designer for a
hospitality group? What are the specificities/ differences?

I am more
in the Design management, which is quite different from just design.

My role is
to create a pleasant design environment of course, but also to teach design to
customers, to owners etc. I can say that design management is very similar to
project management since the role is to support culture, creativity and not
only build a structure in the organization around design. Coaching people
around design is also one of my missions.

Usually, I
cooperate with operations teams, F&B teams, wellness and business teams,
development, owners, creative agencies, interior designs, marketing so my
missions combine all knowledge and I have to interact with all these different
teams. The process is very complex because all parties are involved.

I noticed
some differences between hospitality and other industries. In the hospitality
sector, it is not only about the rooms anymore or the F&B but it is a much
more complex industry, an augmented hospitality that we provide today.

You are the design director for MGallery, what
makes you connect with the brand?

What I like
about the brand is the storytelling, which is great in each properties. There
are different stories and characters that form the entire journey of the
property and even beyond, we can find stories lived outside of the hotel. The
storytelling is very strong, always crafted by large teams (owners, design,
architect, GM, marketing). In addition, it is a very ambitious brand with a
crafted story that aims to link all experiences related to hospitality thought
the different touchpoints with the guest.

The design
(which is one of the pillar of the brand) is really developed and I have a good
experience in collaborating with creative teams in order to craft the story.

It is
always very exciting to see the birth of each story because interior design is
also a large part of crafted solutions. The goal is not to provide a repetitive
solution for every hotel of the brand, but make each one a unique place with a
strong personality.

I believe
movies are an excellent tool to translate the storytelling of the brand. It
allows the viewer to live in te motion mode like a real hero in the hotel. It
is the perfect way to tell a story: only movies can influence all the senses to
understand the storytelling.

What motivates you in your job? What’s the best
part of it?

It is
essentially the creation process combined with teamwork. It is also the
satisfaction of being in charge of the realization of entire properties. I
really enjoy seeing a story becoming alive; starting from the STORM.

Learning
motivates me, and each time with new hotels, teams and stories, I am learning
and discovering new places, opening new books to read about the place, about
people, about culture. My passion is to travel and discover stories of other
people like their cultures or religions.

What kind of female traveler are you?

I travel a
lot, I am a passionate traveler, and sometimes I flirt with danger to
experience it even though I also like comfort. I really enjoy going to the dark
streets to really discover so I can get more adrenaline, I always-crafted trip
and never choose a tourist group. I try to always go where the locals are when
it comes to design, architecture, and culture to find original places. In order
to do so, I prepare very carefully each trip with a big planning work and many
readings before the departure.

What are your interests when you get off work?

I read a
lot, I like to keep updated about what is new. I am also always in the streets,
discovering. As a former professional tennis player, I continue to play this
sport. I also enjoy playing golf. I love to discover new technologies, new
ideas in the wellness industry (crossfit, yoga, etc.) trying to be in the
middle of new practices, crafted. I try each time something different.